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Gulf LNG Terminal Officially Opens

After three and a half years of construction - $1.1 billion facility GE Energy Financial Services, a unit of GE, announced that its co-owned Gulf LNG regasificationand liquefied natural gas storage facility on the Gulf of Mexico has successfully begun operations.GE made the announcement at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the facility in Pascagoula, Mississippi, joined by Gov. Haley Barbour and executives of El Paso Corporation."After three and a half years of construction, this $1.1 billion facility was completed on-time and on-budget and forms an important part of our nation's energy infrastructure," said Dan Castagnola, a managing director of GE Energy Financial Services in Houston. "Our co-ownership of this facility reflects GE Energy Financial Services' strategy of supporting long-term, critical infrastructure projects that help meet energy demand and draw on GE's strengths and expertise in energy."The terminal, operated by a subsidiary of El Paso Corporation, is located adjacent to the Bayou Casotte Ship Channel in the Port of Pascagoula on the Gulf Coast. It receives, stores and regasifies - turns back into gas - imported liquefied natural gas, known as LNG. The terminal consists of two 160,000 cubic meter storage tanks with a combined capacity of 6.6 billion cubic feet (Bcf); ...

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Gulf Residents Fight for Their Future 15 Months After the BP Blowout

A Fisherman's Farewell? Mark Stewart is a third generation fisherman from the Mississippi Gulf fishing community of Pass Christian. He's a proud and tough working man of the sea,used to hauling in nets until his armsnearly fall off andfishing all night until his eyelids are crusted shut like a saltine sandwich.That's the life he knows, the life he wouldn't have any other way.And it's the life he fears he may never lead again.Ever sinceBP's mammoth Deepwater Horizon rig blew 15 months ago, Mark's life -- and the lives of thousands of fishermen across the Gulf -- has never been the same. Many say they were poisoned by oil and chemical dispersants after being thrust into cleanup jobs they were woefully unprepared for.But it's the aftermath that really worries them now. Stewart and his fishing colleagues say the 4.9 million barrels of BP oil spewed into the sea is wrecking havoc with their fishing grounds and threatening their livelihoods. Fishermen like Stewart are seeing what they describe as their worst nightmare, the collapse of teeming fisheries that were once themost productive in the world. But not now, they say. Shrimp, oysters, crab, nearly all of the bounty of the sea appear ...

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An unexpected increase in the acidity of Gulf waters

Run-off, emissions deliver double whammy to coastal marine creatures Increasing acidification in coastal waters could compromise the ability of oysters and other marine creatures to form and keep their shells, according to a new study led by University of Georgia researchers.Their findings will be published in the November 2011 issue of Nature Geoscience. The researchers determined the combined effects of fertilizer runoff carried by the Mississippi River to the northern Gulf of Mexico and excess atmospheric carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels result in an unexpected increase in the acidity of Gulf waters.Algae-rich water from the Mississippi River feeds into the Gulf of Mexico. The green color of the river water on the right indicates a plume of phytoplankton, which grows in excess as fertilizer runs into the river basin."Before, scientists only worried about low oxygen in waters along the coast," said Wei-Jun Cai, a professor of marine sciences in the UGA Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. "Our paper basically says not only do we need to worry about low oxygen, we also need to worry about acidification."When plumes of river water rich with nutrients from fertilizer run into coastal waters, phytoplankton thrives. When these algae die, they sink ...

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BP Clears Hurdle To Drill In Gulf While Oil Spill Liability Laws Remain Unchanged

43 oil drilling plans in the Gulf have already been approved The Obama administration is set to allow BP to resume exploratory drilling in the Gulf of Mexico roughly a year-and-a-half after the company oversaw the largest offshore spill in history -- but without any changes to the laws that hold companies responsible for the economic damages that such spills cause.Friday's announcement from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management that BP could proceed with plans to drill four exploratory wells roughly 200 miles from the Louisiana coast was a coda to a summer-long saga that forced the government to confront uncomfortable questions about offshore drilling and its economic and environmental impacts.Government officials said Friday that BP had proved its "compliance with the heightened standards that all deepwater activities must meet." An Obama administration official noted that 43 oil drilling plans in the Gulf had already been approved and that this was the first approval specifically for BP. In each case, the official noted, the company had to pass environmental and safety tests including "the ability to demonstrate containment" of a spill.In other words: BP had to show that there wouldn't be a repeat of the spill that lasted for three ...

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The Safety Technology of Deepwater Drilling

To prevent accidents like the Gulf oil spill Questions surround the safety technology used by the deepwater drilling industry, such as blowout preventers, that is supposed to prevent accidents like the Gulf oil spill from happening. Clean Skies Dan Goldstein takes a look at just how these devices may have failed, and what it means for the future of the industry.

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Offshore Oil Work Increasing – Oil Rig Lawyer Cites Risk

Drilling for oil is on the verge of a boom in the Gulf of Mexico As the U.S. oil and gas workers in the Gulf of Mexico prepare to suit up to meet the U.S. energy demands of the future, Jim Adler, a Jones Act expert and offshore accident attorney, worries that offshore workers don't have enough information regarding a federal law meant to protect them.Drilling for oil is on the verge of a boom in the Gulf of Mexico. Scores of workers will soon be heading to offshore oil or gas drilling rigs or platforms as the U.S. rushes to meet growing demand and reduce, if not end, its dependence on foreign oil.Jim Adler, a Jones Act expert and offshore accident attorney, worries that "offshore workers don't have enough information about a federal law meant to protect them"The Jones Act, originally passed in 1920 to protect maritime workers, was extended to protect offshore oil workers. that aspect of the law has not received much publicity. Adler fears that "the rush to drill offshore will leave scores of workers' families with no clear picture of what to do after a loved one is injured or killed offshore"He also adds, "a ...

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Oil Spill Fines: Offshore Safety Chief, Pushes Congress For Stiffer Penalties

The most BP could be fined is $21 millionfor the Gulf oil spill The head of the offshore drilling safety agency is telling Congress current fines for offshore violations need to be much stiffer.Michael Bromwich, head of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, says the maximum civil penalty for a violation offshore should be "well into the six figures" per day, per incident. The maximum fine was $35,000 per day at the time of the Gulf blowout. Bromwich called that amount "trivial" for profitable companies spending up to $1 million a day leasing an offshore rig.Bromwich's statement comes a day after BP was cited for seven violations, and its contractors Transocean and Halliburton, four apiece, stemming from the Gulf spill.Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Edward Markey says based on his calculations, the most BP could be fined is $21 million.Source: Huffington Post

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BP, Transocean, Halliburton cited over alleged safety and environmental violations

Stemming from last year's rig explosion and massive Gulf oil spill Federal regulators on Wednesday cited oil company BP PLC and two other companies - Transocean Ltd. and Halliburton - for alleged safety and environmental violations stemming from last year's rig explosion and massive Gulf oil spill.The companies have 60 days to appeal the citations issued by the Interior Department's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.The bureau says the alleged regulatory violations could result in civil penalties once the appeal period has ended.These initial citations are the product of a federal government probe of the Deepwater Horizon blast, which killed 11 workers and hastened the nation's worst offshore oil spill."To ensure the safe and environmentally responsible conduct of offshore operations, companies that violate federal regulations must be held accountable," BSEE Director Michael R. Bromwich said in a statement. "The joint investigation clearly revealed the violation of numerous federal regulations designed to protect the integrity of offshore operations."One of the citations accuses well owner BP, rig owner Transocean and cement contractor Halliburton of failing to operate in a "safe and workmanlike manner." Another says the companies "failed to take necessary precautions to keep the well under control at all times."A report ...

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Gulf Cleanup Needed, Government Report Says

Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force Coastal states must work together to restore key elements of the Gulf of Mexico that have made it a backbone of the U.S. economy before the ecosystem becomes so weak and polluted that it is no longer habitable for animals or people, according to a preliminary report released Wednesday.The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, established by President Barack Obama after last year's catastrophic oil spill, provided an executive summary of the report to the Associated Press. The draft report seeks to pinpoint the biggest challenges and most pressing issues facing the Gulf and also provide the five coastal states - Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama - with a restoration strategy."One of the results of all the meetings is a real sense of urgency," EPA chief Lisa Jackson told The AP. "Person after person came in and said 'we're losing the Gulf.' None of it is irreversible, but the longer we wait, the harder it will be."The Gulf of Mexico's ecosystem, long the victim of upstream efforts to allow easy ship navigation and prevent Mississippi River flooding, has been in a state of environmental decline for decades.BP's oil spill, the largest offshore spill ...

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The State of the Gulf Coast

A Report by Save Our Gulf Waterkeepers This week a comprehensive status report on the Gulf Coast was released by Save Our Gulf, an environmental coalition of members of Waterkeeper Alliance from the states of Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama. The report is called "The State of the Gulf: A Status Report from the Save Our Gulf Waterkeepers in the Wake of the BP Oil Spill".The report documents the progress, current conditions and makes recommendations for the restoration efforts after the region experienced the worst environmental disaster in the history of the United States and is written from the perspective of the men and women who are Riverkeepers, Baykeepers, Basinkeepers, BayouKeepers, and Coastkeepers in the Gulf region, whose job on a normal day is to protect their individual waterways from polluters, no easy task I assure you. Since the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster in April 2010, there have been no normal days.That day changed everything, for all of them, affecting all of their waterways, their job descriptions, their environments, the health, welfare and livelihoods of their families and communities. In fact, every single living organism in the Gulf was impacted by this disaster.While it may no longer be nightly news, ...

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